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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today strongly applauded a pending White House Presidential Memorandum, expected to be signed and issued later this afternoon, extending to domestic partners of federal workers some of the same benefits that are available to spouses of married federal employees.

“I am pleased to see this important step forward by President Obama not only in doing what is right, but in better equipping federal agencies in their efforts to recruit and retain the high-quality workforce they need,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

“As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government should be setting an example on treating its workforce with fairness,” the NTEU leader said, noting that many private companies have been far ahead of government in making these benefits available to domestic partners.

The Presidential Memorandum does not include benefits under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), reflecting the fact that the president does not have the authority to include that program on his own; instead, that takes legislative action.

President Kelley emphasized that NTEU will continue its push for House and Senate approval of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), that would extend FEHBP coverage to domestic partners of federal employees.

The NTEU leader noted the union has won a number of domestic partner benefits on behalf of employees at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in collective bargaining.

“In working in concert with the FDIC, NTEU was able to obtain domestic partner benefits for FDIC employees because the corporation recognized that many private sector firms already offer these benefits,” said Kelley. “We will continue to work to pass legislation to ensure all federal employees have the same access.”

FDIC is not covered by all of the provisions of Title 5 of the U.S. Code that encompasses most federal civil service rules and benefits, and therefore NTEU negotiates on pay and a broader range of benefits. In most circumstances, however, Congress must act before NTEU can negotiate such benefits with other agencies.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.